If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or email alerts. Thanks for visiting!With the falling approval ratings for George Bush published almost every month seem to signify a failing presidency, the following chart of Presidential approval ratings [source: WSJ] from the early 50s makes for interesting observations:
The first [...]
Patrix | 
Governance, Politicking, United States | 
4 Comments »
Couple of weeks ago, Dr. Manmohan Singh our esteemed Prime Minister sought to put corporations in their place by lecturing them on social responsibility. Apart from lecturing them on their moral shortcomings for earning hefty profits, he asked them to respect workers and invest in their education and welfare. I chuckled to myself when I [...]
Patrix | Governance, India | Comments Off
I don’t understand the hype over Amitabh and Aamir declaring themselves to be farmers. Incidentally, you have to be a ‘farmer’ if you wish to own agricultural land in India. My dad has made oodles of money by doing the the paperwork for converting lands to non-agricultural post-sale (mind numbing bureaucracy also makes a market, [...]
Patrix | Governance, India, Law | 4 Comments »
Ever since I have become familiar with the possibilities that GIS presents for local city planning and development, I have wondered why hasn’t it been utilized yet in medium-sized towns in India. GIS, or Geographic Information Systems is a way to store and process data that can be easily presented in a graphical format. All [...]
Patrix | Governance, India, Recommended, Technology | Comments Off
Although it has nothing to do with my professional life, I am deeply interested in education. Perhaps it is because I have essayed the role of a student for a long time now although in a broader sense of the word, we all never stop learning. Or perhaps it is because of the role of [...]
Patrix | Governance, India, United States, education | 4 Comments »
Recently, the United States Supreme Court upheld the ban on partial-birth abortion giving pro-lifers a much needed victory in their quest to overturn Roe v. Wade. Justice Kennedy in his majority decision insisted that this decision was rational and in conjunction with Roe v. Wade since it sought to only prevent a certain kind of [...]
Patrix | Current Affairs, Governance, Law, Politicking, United States | 4 Comments »
Would it work? Scott Adams of Dilbert fame thinks so. Of course, if you have been following his blog regularly, you can never tell if he is joking or serious. You decide:
It’s common knowledge that all major government decisions in the United States are made via a process that Thomas Jefferson described in the constitution [...]
Patrix | Governance, India, United States | 1 Comment »
Immigration has suddenly become a hot button topic in the U.S. political scenario and even Senators from northern and midwestern states vying for the Presidential position are trumpeting their views on strict immigration control. The Democrats have been largely silent or at least ambivalent about immigration control. While most of them believe that the issue [...]
Patrix | Governance, Politicking, United States | 2 Comments »
Via Gaurav’s Vantage Point, I came across this excellent snippet of CNBC India wherein the reporter grilled the Indian commerce minister, Kamal Nath. As Gaurav mentioned, the reporter is well aware of common (yet uncommon) economic principles and uses them to grill Kamal Nath. The minister is an educated man too and probably is letting [...]
Patrix | Governance, Media, Politicking | 6 Comments »
The HPV vaccine issue in Texas is a classic policy example of ends versus means with a little bit of wacky ideological mixed in for good measure. The genital human pappillomavirus (HPV) is known to cause cervical cancer among women and the chances of an average person getting the disease is quite high. “Since it [...]
Patrix | Governance, Health, Science | 11 Comments »
India shining or not but JNU is certainly ‘caught in a time warp‘.
Patrix | Asides, Governance, education | Comments Off
Vanaik does not offer any explanation as to why India should be concerned with “securing justice” for Iraqis, Palestinians and others in west Asia. Why should India not, for example, fight to secure justice for Tibetans, Taiwanese, Myanmarese, Darfuris, White Zimbabweans, Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority or Europe’s Muslims? It turns out that India’s reluctance to [...]
Patrix | Governance, India, Politicking | Comments Off
(image source: Boing Boing)
Couple of weeks back, Brazil insanely decided to ban YouTube for failing to effectively curb the spread of the Daniella Cicarelli sex-on-the-beach video. The order was issued after Cicarelli and her boyfriend filed suit in a Brazilian court. Of course, Daniella hadn’t envisioned that in spite of her celebrity status in Brazil, [...]
Patrix | Governance, India, Media, Politicking, Rants, Videos | 29 Comments »
Think India has more than its share of moral policing? Heck, even the pro-business free-speech-loving U.S. has its share of loonies.
Patrix | Ads, Asides, Governance, Law, Television, United States | Comments Off
“The Indian Air Force has not lost a single MiG-21 in an accident in
the last twelve months. This is a surprise, given that Indian Air Force MiG-21s
have had a very high rate of accidents in the past.” The Rang De Basanti effect? Nah! I am kidding but I am relieved to see this turnaround.
Patrix | Asides, Current Affairs, Governance, India | Comments Off
What do you do when your city roads are riddled with potholes? Of course, you take off your clothes and protest. Now that would definitely solve the problem in Mumbai. Or not.
Patrix | Asides, Fun Weird, Governance | Comments Off
This might be one of the rare few moments when I have heard the Islamic intellectuals, scholars, and leaders speak out against something that benefits them tremendously - the infamous Haj Subsidy. In spite of being a ’secular democracy’, the Indian government has openly flouted its own rules by offering this subsidy [almost 180 crores]. [...]
Patrix | Governance, India, Politicking, Religion | 1 Comment »
If you are an immigrant, legal or otherwise in the United States,you have cause for concern. Unmindful of its hate and fear-mongering politics that brought its downfall, the Bush Administration is perpetrating its discriminatory agenda that lacks in both reason and justice.
Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism [...]
Patrix | Current Affairs, Governance, Law, Politicking | 2 Comments »
The midterm election results in favor of the Democrats across the United States is beginning to have an effect. Largely seen as a referendum on the war in Iraq, the White House has admitted that it might be time for change. The first person to be directly affected was Donald Rumsfeld, the much maligned Secretary [...]
Patrix | Current Affairs, Governance, Politicking, United States | 4 Comments »
I was fortunate enough to spot a lone flyer in our architecture building announcing that Arvind Kejriwal, the ex-bureaucrat who pioneered the RTI movement in India and winner of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award, was speaking on campus. Usually I’ll not walk through lashing rain that seems to have become a regular feature this Texan [...]
Patrix | Governance, Law, Politicking | 2 Comments »
Delightful comedy laced with dry Brit humor. A bit sappy though.
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Explores the brother-sister relationship brought together during their father's last days.
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Poignant but slow narrative of an orphaned girl living with her aunt in rural Maharashtra.
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Stunning and engaging narration. Raw violence and personal struggles of ordinary guys in a tough neighborhood.
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